This was our 3rd cruise with MSC, our first on the Fantasia. We had a wonderful time. We originally booked this cruise because of the ports we were going to be stopping in, with Israel being one of them. Because of the unrest in Israel, MSC took that stop off the itinerary and replaced it with Malta, Izmir, and Sicily I believe. While we were disappointed that Israel had been taken off, we had a fabulous time none the less. The ship was beautifully decorated for the Christmas holiday. On Christmas Eve everyone gathered in the lobby on Deck 5 and sang Christmas carols, starting in English and then continuing on to other languages. It was a great event.

The staff, especially in the Red Velvet Restaurant was top notch. We had great service every night. After the 1st night the host and hostess at the door knew who we were and never asked for our table number again. Our cabin was always clean and ready for our return at the end of the day. The staff on the entire ship was always friendly and helpful. Because this was our 3rd cruise with MSC we knew to stay clear of the buffet for breakfast and after excursions because it is next to impossible to find a place to sit and eat. We utilized the restaurant for breakfast each morning and had good service. Only one morning when we were pressed for time, they seemed to be very slow and we had to rush to eat our meal.

The shows at night were just OK. They were not anything spectacular for sure. The one thing that we were really disappointed with is, on our 2nd cruise, we purchased a voucher for 10 euro to use on our next cruise. Basically for the 10 euro, you would save money on your next booking. The amount that you would save depended on the cabin type. We booked a balcony cabin so we should have gotten 200 euro/$200 on board credit. Well based on our booking we didn't qualify because we booked under one of their other "deals". Luckily we were only out the 10 euro and overall we ended up saving more than the 200 the voucher was good for. The reason for the disappointment was because the girl who is selling these vouchers had no idea how it worked. She had to contact MSC head quarters to get an answer on whether or not we qualified. Overall we had a great time and we would cruise with MSC again.